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CHAPTER I <br />INTRODUCTION <br />A. Purpose and Need for the Action <br />Seneca Coal Company (Seneca) submitted a permit <br />application package (PAP) for a new permit for the Yoast <br />Mine to the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology <br />(DMG) under the Colorado state program (30 CFR Part <br />906). The PAP proposes a permitted area of 911.8 <br />hectares (ha) (2,253 ac) for the Yoast Mine, including <br />515.2 ha (1,273 ac) of Federal lease C- 0114093. <br />About 7.80 million metric tons (t) (8.6 million tons) <br />would be mined, including about 6.26 million t (6.9 <br />million tons) of Federal coal from lease C- 0114093. The <br />proposed permit and mining plan approval area are shown <br />on the attached map. Colorado DMG approved the PAP and <br />issued permit C -94 -082 on August 5, 1995.. <br />Under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, the Assistant <br />Secretary, Land and Minerals Management (Assistant <br />Secretary) must approve the mining plan for Federal <br />lease C- 0114093 prior to the beginning of operations to <br />mine Federal coal. Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 746, the <br />Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement <br />(OSM) must make a recommendation to the Assistant <br />Secretary for approval, conditional approval, or <br />disapproval of the mining plan. <br />B. Project Background /General Information <br />The proposed Yoast surface coal mine would be located <br />in Routt County, Colorado, 13.7 kilometers (8.5 mi) <br />south of Hayden. The mining operations would utilize <br />area mining methods and the production rate would be <br />about 544,310..8 t (600,000 tons) per year. The life - <br />of -mine would be about 14 years. <br />C. Existing /Related Environmental Documents <br />Bureau of Land Management, 1978. Northwest Colorado <br />Coal Supplemental Report. <br />This environmental statement examined the impacts <br />from development of four proposed coal mines in <br />northwestern Colorado. One of the proposed mines <br />was the Seneca 2 -W Mine, which is still in <br />operation and is operated by Seneca Coal Company. <br />2 <br />